4/20 Praise It

   This year, the famous egg hunting day (Easter) lands on the date 4/20. Yes, ha-ha. Four twenty. A majority of Carson High students know of the marijuana appreciation day. 

But, some don’t even know what Easter is celebrated for in the first place! Easter isn’t just getting a basket full of candy from your mom or a bunny; it’s also the date of Christ’s resurrection after the third day he was crucified.

 This years Easter has been mentioned to be quite eventful because, not only is it already two holidays, but it is also Adolf Hitler's birthdate. Some people have found it to be ironic because of the two very contradicting roles that Jesus and Hitler lead. One was a messiah, and the other was a dictator.

 The date has brought a lot of chit-chat and giggling on campus but overall, the controversy is really no biggie. 

Gay Is The New Black: A Letter To The Editor

*This is a letter to the editor regarding the March 27th, 2014 OP/ED article*

You can have iced tea, but you can't have a cup. You can have ice cream, but you have to eat it with a fork. These sound ridiculous, but saying that one group owns a certain right and another does not sounds bad to me too.

Civil rights should not have limits. The idea behind the movement is that each individual on this planet deserves the same benefits and taxes. In the not so distant past, there have been a string of restrictions on access to many rights, such as water fountains, bathrooms, education, and marriage. Before I go into detail, notice I did not make reference to any particular race, belief, or orientation. This is because at one time or another, an given group of people have been subjected to restriction, segregation, and lack of representation.

During a lesson in my art class on propaganda, I make a point to show a clip from the movie The Pianist. If you haven't seen it, the movie portrays the struggle of a Jewish Pole during World War II. At the conclusion of the clip, I have my students look around to realize that not a single person in the room would have been safe from persecution by the Nazi movement. I may be of European Caucasian descent, but as a Freemason, free thinker, and (I consider myself) a better artist than Hitler, my rights would have been restricted and stripped just as any of the other millions at the time.

Nancy makes the analogy of comparing the recent battle of equal marriage rights to the civil rights movement of the 60's. I understand that she has gotten criticism for her comments. I would like to defend her words and support her statement. Although marriage is based in religion and tradition, there are non-secular rights and privileges. For instance, the IRS allows for tax breaks for those who are married that are not afforded to same sex partners. Also, certain insurance companies apply these same type of restrictions. Not too long ago, these same limits were applied to the box you checked under "race" on your application. I think Nancy is trying to say that one could draw similarities from both experiences, however, the recent group is not in any way better, more deserving, or unworthy.

I support Nancy and the Trailblazer's guts to publish such a story. As an educator, I appreciate that this article has caused discussion and reflection amongst its readers. As a human, I don't think anyone should be limited on their access to anything. Standing up for what you believe in is never and easy task, and I admire your courage.

Steven Soltysik 
Art Teacher/GSA Advisor
S-3
Academies of Education and Empowerment

50 Year Anniversary Pictorial (October 11th, 2013)

Here are the PDF(s) of the special edition pictorial of Carson High's 50th anniversary

Pictorial page 1
Pictorial page 2
Pictorial page 3
Pictorial page 4

Enjoy!
-Jocelyn Moguel (Online Editor)

New Year, New Trailblazer!

Hello there lovelies! This is your online editor here announcing that the Trailblazer will upload the PDF  of our Publication from this year. Only because we can show our readers the newspaper if they are not able to catch a copy of our paper.  This is awesome not only for our students, teachers, random people looking at our blog, and the Alumni: But for our whole staff. This is an exciting move for us and a way to keep up with a changing atmosphere that is Carson Complex.

What will also be cool of our online edition of the paper. Is that we can publish stories exclusive for online only. Even any cool features not shown in the paper!

Enjoy this cool new change everyone!

-Jocelyn Moguel (Online Editor)

Who Is Responsible? (All About Syria)

Article Written By Naveeda Nasir (Staff Writer) 

So as of 9/112013, Congress finally voted in favor of President Obama, who said, “Syrian chemical weapons should be under international custody since that is the only solution to keep the world safe”. This all started on Aug 21, 2013, when Syrian President Bashar-al-Assad proposed the idea of handing the Syrian republic to the military control for the amelioration of the country: and when the public refused, he used chemical weapons to threaten them and as the result over 100,000 people died in the attack. According to CNN, when talked about the situation in Syria. A 24 year old student, Muhammad Sami from International University of Syria said “my whole family died due to this attack, even though they had nothing to do with the political affairs of the country. But I’ll not let my other Syrian brothers and sisters die a miserable death, we will fight till the last breath to save Syria and never let it become another Afghanistan. There is no country in the world that has not faced problems but it does not mean they should be destroyed but it means there is a need of peace and unity in the world”. This is not just an ordinary issue, but an international issue as well. It's not only Syrians who are affected, but all people who have their loved ones in the military or navy fighting overseas. Especially when it comes to students, they are most affected because teenagers are the future and the ones responsible for the peace of the world for their future generation.

 To talk about this issue we questioned to a couple of students at Carson High Complex about what do they think is going on in Syria and a Carson High senior Jovan Gonzalez stated “My brother just came back home from Afghanistan after 2 years and he is already been told to report back on duty. He has a 2 years old son who he just met for the first time in two years. But the fact is that it not only the story of my family but thousand of those who have either parents or siblings serving in military”. Jovan also states “We are the future so we need to learn to solve our problems with peace because no one gets anything by flowing blood streams”. AEE biology teacher, Debbie Morris had this to say “No religion in existing world lead us to any kind of destruction. Freedom and peace are the messages conveyed by every religion that supports humanity with it followers and non-followers. So we can not blame religious conflict and global warming for the current global peace situation in the world. But it is also true that some of us who are hungry for more and more and demolishing the world”. But there are certain questions that rise in a Syrian citizen’s as well as other civilians around the world like, who is responsible for the current situation and the killing of thousands of innocent people? Or is the world going to just see Syria being destroyed and removed from the world map/ or some other country like America is going to take over Syria? 

***The Trailblazer staff gives our condolences to the estimated 100,000 dead in Syria due to the usage of Chemical Weapons***

My First Days at Carson High School

Article Written By: Jacey Yankowy  (Staff Writer)

I have lived in the Tustin Unified School District in Orange County my whole life, But until September. I found out that I was attending Carson High School with my father. At first when I was about to get my classes, I was afraid that I might have no idea where I am going or what classes to go to.

My dad helped me to find where all of my classes are and also one of the women and gentlemen that are in his class assisted me with my class schedule. When I was still living with my dad. I know I have to attend Carson because everyone is back in school and I needed to be back in school. When I finally arrived at Carson High, I was amused at its size. I admired the murals, the classrooms, and the new friends I’ve made. I love my new teachers that I have. Although, I miss my other friends and teachers from Tustin High School. I know that my future is here. I visit my dad’s classroom at nutrition and lunch and I do talk with his students and just hang out.

Back at Tustin High School, the campus is nothing like Carson High School’s campus. Carson has the C and H on the gates and Tustin’s gates don’t. Tustin’s gates are just gray and plain, But Carson is so bigger than Tustin High. And when my dad told me about the swim team here. I am thinking about joining it.

When I met my new teachers here for the 1^st time, they know who my dad was. I even told the students in each class who I was and they were so surprised.

My experience at Carson High School so far is meeting new teachers, making new friends, and being with my dad at school every day. I love Carson High School now more than Tustin High School. My last favorite experience about being at Carson High School; is that I met Dr. Warren, the principal of Carson High School and I just love her.

And this is my story on how I love being at Carson High School. How I lived in Orange County and coming to Carson High School.